Experimental Magic
by SilveryMoon34
Summary: An accident blasts Merlin into our present, where he meets the reincarnated versions of himself and Arthur, known in our time as Micah and Aaron. Rated T for safety and possible future content. MxA slash
1. Curiousity and the Warlock

**A/N: Since nobody broke out the rotten tomatoes on my first try, I thought I'd do another one =). This idea has been banging around in my head for a while. Please enjoy. (Oh yeah, this can also be considered a very loose sequel to my first fic.)**

**Experimental Magic**

Merlin was there when they brought it in, off the body of a mad Druid. Arthur, on a rare hunting trip without his clumsy manservant, had come across the man, babbling some nonsense about having seen giant buildings of glass, and so much noise, noise, _noise_! The prince and his knights had been content to let the madman be, but the man had suddenly turned on them, spraying tendrils of lightning from gnarled fingers. They had been forced to kill him to stop his rampage, and in the process of trying to find out who he was, they had found this…

"…Book?" The young sorcerer said, puzzled.

"It would seem so." Gaius said. Both physician and boy stared at the fine, shimmering thing Arthur had carefully dumped on Gaius's worktable.

"I assumed if anyone in the kingdom could tell me what it is, it would be you two." The prince in question said, the barest hint of amusement in his tone as he glanced at Merlin. Ever since his vision several months before, he had been dropping hints that he knew about Merlin's talent, making Merlin's heart jump in a strange mixture of joy and fear.

The boy smiled slightly-he was used to it by now-letting his heart calm itself before approaching the strange book.

He reached out to grab its smooth edges-but let it go at once, making a noise that was half a gasp, half a very girly yelp, jumping away from the table. The thing had _burned _him like a hot brand, leaving angry welts on his skin.

"_Mer_lin." Arthur sighed in annoyance, but his hands were tender, quick to take hold of Merlin's and gently hold them open so he could inspect the damage. "Why on earth did you think I used that potato sack to touch the blasted thing?"

Merlin made a face, glancing at the object in question, lying beneath the book. "Afraid of magic germs, Sire?"

Arthur snorted. "Now if that were true, I wouldn't be touching _you, _now would I?"

The prince had said it in a low voice, as if he didn't want Gaius (who was bustling around for a burn salve across the room) to hear him, but Merlin heard him clearly. He gaped at his prince, shocked that he'd come out and practically _say _he knew Merlin had magic, right out in the open, even if it was just Gaius in the room with them.

Arthur grinned at him-it _had _to be breaking some cosmic rule for one person to look so wicked and lovely at the same time-then turned to take the salve from Gaius. As he carefully rubbed the stuff into Merlin's palms (making the boy flush a bright, maidenly pink) the physician approached the book himself, though he made no move to touch it.

Even though he thoroughly enjoyed his prince's attention, Merlin found his eyes drawn back to his mentor and the book, just in time to see all the color leave the old man's face.

"What is it, Gaius?" Merlin asked, alarmed. The prince, hearing that alarm, turned to look, too.

"Nothing." He replied too quickly, carefully covering the book with the potato sack. He picked it up with both hands, holding it far away from himself as if _he _were the one afraid of magic germs, warily placing the thing on the nearest, highest shelf he could reach.

"Just…don't bother it, either of you, until it can be disposed of properly."

Arthur raised one golden eyebrow, as surprised at the command as Merlin. "Yes Sire."

When Merlin said nothing, Gaius gave him not a stern look but a pleading one, as if he was saying _Please trust me about this, Merlin. Please._ Merlin swallowed tightly, frightened by his mentor's sudden lack of composure. "Y-yes, of course, Gaius."

The old man actually seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "Now, I'm sure you two could find something better to do than hang about an old man's study…?"

"Yes." The prince's hand curled tight around Merlin's wrist. "Come along, _Mer_lin."

It had been Arthur's original plan to train one on one with Merlin serving as his live practice dummy, but seeing as his hands were too hurt to properly grip a sword, despite the soothing salve, Arthur, in a rare moment of generosity, let him relax in a chair in his chambers instead.

Merlin sat without protest, happy for the respite, leaning his head back with a contented sigh. He heard the slight rustle of fabric as Arthur moved around him. His eyes flew open in surprise as he felt the prince's calloused hand run smoothly through his hair, nails lightly scratching his scalp.

"A-Arthur…?"

"Shush." The prince bent so his head was closer to Merlin's ear. "Been wanting to do that all morning."

Merlin found himself giggling like an idiot, like he usually did when he got nervous-which he always was when Arthur suddenly got…_romantic _with him. "You mean to tell me that you have a _hair fetish,_ dear Sire?"

Arthur lightly smacked his manservant's head. "No_, Mer_lin. Although…" He ran his hands-both of them, now-over Merlin's scalp again, digging his nails in a bit harder, pressing his face closer to the soft locks, inhaling quietly…which sent poor Merlin into another nervous giggling fit.

Arthur sighed in long-suffering annoyance, standing up. "Ugh, Merlin, you're _impossible, _sometimes."

Merlin sobered up instantly. "Eh, sorry Arthur."

Arthur squeezed his wrist-thoughtfully avoiding his hand-lightly, smiling. "I suppose you're forgiven…this time."

The rest of the day was a lazy one, with Arthur staying in his rooms to keep Merlin company despite his halfhearted protests. For the sake of Merlin's nerves, Arthur patiently kept his hands to himself, which instead led to talking-lots and lots of talking, about a wide range of subjects. From girls (mostly Arthur teasing him about his close friendship with Gwen) to Uther and council meetings, the boys talked well into the night, happily missing dinner in the great hall in favor of a bowl of fruit shared in each other's company.

But soon, too soon, it was time for Merlin to retire to his own room. They looked at each other for the longest time, neither wanting Merlin to leave.

"Um, well…" Arthur muttered in a rare moment of awkwardness. "Good night, Merlin."

Merlin smiled quietly. "Good night, Arthur."

But as soon as Merlin's hand touched the doorknob, Arthur said, "Merlin."

He looked back, his face breaking into a wide grin at the sight of Arthur holding back his blankets for him. "You can stay, if you like."

"Thought you'd never ask, Lord Pratness." Merlin said, happily snuggling in beside his master, not caring in the least that he was still fully dressed.

Arthur pouted. "You should have more faith in me, _Mer_lin."

Sometime later, much later, Merlin woke, drenched in sweat, heart pounding, with his burned hands aching. It wasn't a nightmare that woke him-his sleep had been deep and dreamless. It wasn't the combined body heat-it was that blasted _book._ He had managed to mostly forget about it when he was talking with Arthur, but now it was back, its obvious power calling out to him seductively, calling him to come and explore the magic between its pages…

Merlin managed to resist its call for a few hours, focusing on watching his beloved master sleep beside him, but the young sorcerer quickly found, that while Arthur was very beautiful to look at, he couldn't hold one's attention for an entire night, not with something else buzzing in the back of his mind…

He finally gave up, heeding the call at last, if only to throw the stupid thing out the window.

It was a simple thing to reach the book-Gaius wasn't really very tall to begin with, and Merlin had a few inches on him. He was surprised to feel not a burning heat beneath the sack, but a soft coolness that soothed his burns. Curiosity quickly overwhelmed his irritation, as he carefully brushed the sack away. The bare cover didn't burn his hands again, and before he could stop himself, he was opening the book, the heavy cover lifting almost eagerly in his hands…

"Merlin, what are you doing? Gaius told us not to touch that-"

The sudden sound of Arthur's voice so close behind him made Merlin jump so hard the book slipped from his hands. As he whirled guilty to face his prince, a sudden, blinding flash of light illuminated the other boy's face, and then…nothing.

**A/N: Holy cliffhanger, batman! Ok please don't hate me =(****. This was originally supposed to be a oneshot, but the idea kinda ran away with me, and before I knew it, it was six pages long! I had to break it into two chapters. I pinky swear I'll get the next one up ASAP!** **Reviews welcome and appreciated =)**


	2. What the buck?

**A/N: Here it is, the second chapter! Enjoy ;)**

Experimental Magic

Merlin blinked, dazed at the sudden light. "Arthur…?"

But when his vision cleared, Arthur was nowhere to be found. Neither was Gaius's study, in fact. Somehow, he was _outside_, in a _forest._ And what on earth was that ungodly noise?

"There you are." A voice growled behind him. "I've been looking for you _everywhere._"

Merlin could have almost fainted with relief. _Arthur._

Before he could turn around, Arthur grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. When he did so, they both got a shock. _It wasn't Arthur_. He looked like him, right down to the golden hair, tousled from sleep, but he didn't stand like Merlin's Arthur, and he was wearing…

"What _are _you wearing?" The not-Arthur asked, looking him up and down. Merlin could have asked him the same thing. Whatever it was, it was entirely too loose, and it was an ugly gray color that didn't suit him _at all._

"Oi, Aaron." Said another voice. The not-Arthur looked up, and did a double take, shock and disbelief flashing over his face. Merlin turned to look where he was looking, and gasped out loud.

It was him, but…not him. The other Merlin could have been his twin, except his hair was darker-full black to Merlin's dark brown, and he was standing in a way that Merlin was never bold enough to stand-one long pale hand resting on his hip, which was slightly thrust out, his head half cocked sideways. In other words, this…other Merlin oozed an attitude that was as playful as it was dangerous.

"Micah…?" Not-Arthur said questioningly, pointing vaguely at Merlin.

The not-Merlin's (what had he called him? Micah?) piercing blue eyes glanced down. "What the fuck?" He moved closer, staring wide-eyed at Merlin. Merlin stared back, his mouth slightly open.

Micah snapped out of the weird déjà vu trance first. "Nice distraction, Aaron, but you already _promised_ you'd come. Now come on, we're going to be late."

"And whose fault is _that_?" Aaron growled back as Micah turned and jogged away. "That boy is _impossible, _sometimes." He sighed, following.

Merlin had hoped to be released by this strange look-alike pair, so he could focus on getting back to Camelot and his own Arthur, but the second he tried to pull away, Aaron's grip on his arm tightened. "Oh no, look-alike, you're coming with me. You have a lot of explaining to do."

As soon as they stepped out of the tree line, Merlin froze, mouth dropping open again. Buildings…giant _buildings_ _of glass_, jabbing up into the pale morning sky; strange multicolored _things_ rolling below on what looked like a road, but it looked too black, too smooth, too _hard _to be a proper road as Merlin knew them…that was all he saw of it before Aaron burst into a run, dragging him with him.

"Micah, don't!" He yelled. But Micah was already doing it, sprinting, almost _dancing _between the strange rolling objects with a grace Merlin himself certainly didn't possess.

He grinned back at them from the other side. "Come on, precious Pendragon. Tardiness does not befit a man of your station!"

Aaron half growled, half sighed. "I am going to _kill_ him."

Merlin stared. _Pendragon?_ Arthur and this strange look-alike had the same last name? How was that possible…?

Merlin had just barely had that thought before Aaron was dragging him along again, _directly into the path of the rolling objects_. Even more noise erupted all around them. Merlin covered his ears, stumbling blindly after a swearing Aaron.

They came out on the other side, miraculously unharmed. Aaron burst into another run, shouting after Micah. "You know, one of these days your mad ass is going to get me killed!"

Micah laughed. "Hardly! No one in their right minds would want your ugly mug smeared all over their car!"

"I'm going to _kill_ you, Micah-!"

"Love you too!"

Just when Merlin thought he might die from trying to keep up with Aaron's long, quick strides, they were following Micah up marble steps to a…church? It was definitely a church, but it was so _big_, much bigger than the tiny wooden thing Merlin had known in Ealdor.

Inside, though, was nice and cool-and Aaron had stopped running at last. _Thank ye Gods._

"I'm here." Micah said sweetly, trotting up to a group of people in long red robes at the front. As Aaron shoved Merlin into a pew, second from the front, their leader turned around. Merlin gasped. _Gaius?_

But the old man was no more Gaius than Aaron was Arthur. He gave Micah the same stern look Gaius would always give Merlin when he overslept. "Ten minutes late and without your robes, as always. Get up there, you fool boy."

Micah grinned cheekily, artfully dodging a cuff from the older man as he joined the others. He was in the front row, and in his strange black clothes, he stood out against a backdrop of solemn maroon-as was his intention, Merlin was sure.

"All right, from the beginning, you all." The Gaius look-alike said, raising a thin piece of white wood.

They began to sing, a soft, beautiful melody. In his mind, Merlin was instantly transported back…Arthur, smiling at him, the sun turning his skin gold. Gwen grinning at him as she hid Morgana's hairbrush beneath her bed; Gaius looking on proudly as he correctly recited the ingredients for a sleeping potion…Gods, why had he been stupid enough to give in to temptation and open that stupid book?

As the song went on, Micah's voice began to stand out. As the others got softer, he got louder, his voice the purest, the most painfully clear. Merlin looked up to see Micah's eyes locked on Aaron's. It was almost painful to watch, for as they stared at one another, something tender and intangible passed between them, melting Aaron's earlier irritation, making him smile.

Merlin felt something sharp pierce his heart. That was something Arthur had been trying to establish between them, ever since his vision, but Merlin had always been too giggly with nervousness to let it go much farther than a kiss or a touch. He regretted it now, as missing Arthur became a sharp and painful ache in his chest.

The choir went through three other songs, but Merlin was no longer paying any attention. He didn't look up from his hands clenched tightly in his lap until Micah flopped into the pew beside him, flushed and happy.

"So, long lost twin." He said. "Who are you?"

In a low voice, he told them, about Camelot, about his life there as a servant to his prince and assistant to the court physician; about the stupid book that tore him away from his beloved Arthur and his friends. A long silence followed his words; then Aaron growled, "That has to be one of the most crazy ass stories I've ever heard."

It was too much. Merlin _really did not_ want to cry in front of them, but talking about it made the undeniable reality of it all crash in on him, and he couldn't stop himself. He felt slender arms come around him.

"Ass." Micah growled at Aaron above his head.

"What? Don't tell me you believe him…?"

"…Reincarnation."

Even Merlin looked up at that. "What?"

"What other explanation is there? I sure as hell don't have a twin. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who has felt like we've done all of this before. That we've _met_ before now."

"That's crazy, Micah. Impossible."

"What do you think happened, then?"

"I think our little friend has serious mental issues and that he thinks he's a famous sorcerer from legend."

"Then why does he look _exactly like me, _then?"

Aaron leaned closer. "Two words: Plastic. Surgery."

"Now who's the crazy-sounding one?" Micah scoffed. He stood up, grabbing Merlin's hand and pulling him up with him. "Come on, Merlin. We'll figure out something."

"Micah…" Aaron groaned, but got up to follow them anyway.

"What are you going to _do, _Micah? Call up his fairy godmother?"

"No." Micah glanced back at them with a slight smile. "I'm going home."

Aaron groaned again. "Oh God."

Merlin glanced between them, eyes wide with alarm. "What? What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. Except Micah's mum is going through a bit of an…_occult_ phase. Which is just a polite way of saying she's experimenting with the crazy pills. _Which she_ _must be slipping to her son_." That last bit was loudly directed at Micah, who ignored him.

"She has some books that might help us." He told Merlin soothingly.

Micah's home was part of a much larger house, which Micah said was called an apartment complex. Three staircases later (which did nothing to help Merlin's already burning calves) they were standing before a peeling white door. Micah pushed it open, pausing only to throw a stern glance at Aaron, who rolled his eyes.

"You home, Mum?" He shouted as they entered.

"Yes." Came the muffled reply. "Who's that with you?"

"Just Aaron and my long-lost twin." Micah shouted back, grinning at Merlin.

"Oh ok. Have fun, dear."

Micah shook his head, shutting the door to his mother's 'study' behind them. "She's so out of it right now, she won't bother us." Aaron mutter something that sounded suspiciously like 'crazy pills' under his breath, causing Micah to punch his shoulder lightly.

"So…" Micah looked around the tiny space, all cluttered up with books, uncertain for the first time since Merlin met him.

"You don't even know where to _start, _Micah?" Aaron's voice was dangerously close to a sneer. "That's surprising."

"We should be looking for something like a sending spell." Merlin put in. Finally, familiar ground in this strange world of look-alikes.

"Sending spell. Right."

A strange look passed over Aaron's face as he looked at Micah. Before he could say anything, however, a strange buzzing noise filled the air. Micah closed his eyes and sighed as Aaron fished something slender and black out of his pocket and put it to his ear.

"Yes?" He listened for a few seconds. "All right, Father. I'm on my way."

He slipped the thing back into his pocket, giving Micah a pained, apologetic look. "Sorry, Micah, but this is getting too weird for me."

"Its fine, precious Pendragon. When daddy calls, the world's gotta jump, right?"

"Sorry." It was almost a whisper. Aaron ducked out of the room without even a backward glance.

"Anyway…" Micah cleared his throat, a bit too loudly. "Where were we…?"

Merlin and Micah spent the rest of the day and well into the night poring over each and every book in Micah's mother's library. What Merlin had been relieved to find as familiar ground quickly became otherwise with each book he looked at. Most of it was absolute rubbish, and what did have grains of truth in it would not help him.

Somewhere around midnight, he cracked a wide yawn, throwing the latest piece of rubbish-which also happened to be the last book-away from him in disgust. Micah squeezed his hand.

"Don't worry, Merlin. We'll find something in the morning, I promise."

The morning-or rather midafternoon-brought no answers, only more frustration. They bounced ideas off one another, and Merlin even recited every sending-related spell he knew, to no effect whatsoever. Merlin flopped miserably onto Micah's couch after his last attempt, rubbing his face hard, as if that would make more ideas come.

It didn't. Micah rubbed his arm, an attempt at comfort, though it made Merlin's arm feel more like a worry stone. "There's gotta be _something_, Merlin…We're just missing it."

As if in answer to Micah's words, a loud blast of what sounded like a horn sounded outside, jolting both of them out of their misery.

Micah's eyes widened. "I know that horn."

He jumped out of his chair and practically flew out the door. Merlin followed, a grin spreading across his face.

Outside, a long, shiny black car (is that what Micah had called the rolling objects?) sat, purring quietly. But it was who was leaned up against it that caught Micah's attention.

Only a blind man could miss the huge grin that spread across Micah's face. "Aaron! Thought you said this was getting too weird for you?"

"It was. But then I started thinking about what you said, about having done all this before…" Aaron cleared his throat, awkwardly. "-And I decided to file all of this hocus pocus under 'suspended judgment.'"

Suddenly, something dawned on Micah's face, erasing his half glad, half smug look. He stepped forward, grabbing Aaron by the front of his shirt and pulling him into a rough, deep kiss. Merlin looked away with a smile, glad he hadn't unintentionally created an irreparable rift between them.

When Micah stepped back, Aaron looked dazed. "Damn. Maybe I should appear to ditch you more often, if that's what I get when I get back."

Micah grinned. "You're cute, precious Pendragon, but that was for giving me the best idea I've had all day."

Merlin and Aaron both looked at him. "Whut?"

Inside the car, Micah filled them both in on his brilliant idea.

"You want us…to break into a _magic shop_?"

Micah nodded as if that was the most reasonable sentence in the whole world. "Yep."

Aaron shared a disbelieving glance with Merlin. "And you're sure this will help Merlin?"

"…Uhhhhh…."

"You want to do something _incredibly illegal_, and you're not even sure it'll even _work?_"

"We don't have a choice, do we?" Merlin put in. "Nothing Micah's mother had worked." He couldn't believe he was condoning _stealing_, but he was desperate, and they really had no other alternative. Nothing else had worked so far.

Aaron sighed. "All right. Buckle up, girlies, the Crime Spree Express is leaving the station."

The magic shop in question, Hocus Pocus By Alakazam, was on the very edge of Aaron and Micah's very large hometown, so night had fully fallen by the time they reached it.

The small and plain shop stood well away from any other buildings, surrounded on all sides by the same hard black stuff that made up the road that led them here. No one-people or cars-was anywhere near it or its lonely island of black.

"God." Aaron growled as they quietly approached on foot. "Stealing from this sad little piece of shit. What's next, Micah? Little old ladies?"

Micah glanced back at him. "What's the matter, precious Pendragon? Afraid for your _prized_ reputation?"

Aaron straightened up, glaring at Micah in a very Arthurish way. "_No."_ He pushed his way past Micah and Merlin, marching straight up to the magic shop's little door. He stood there for a minute, as if calculating something. Then, in a sudden whirr of motion, he _broke the lock_, with one well-aimed kick.

As Merlin stared, wide-eyed, Micah walked past Aaron, slapping his shoulder as he passed. "Nicely done, sweetie. Little less noise next time, though."

Aaron sighed. "There's just no pleasing you, is there? And who the hell said there was _ever_ going to be a next time?"

Micah just grinned over his shoulder as he disappeared into the shop. Aaron sighed again and followed, Merlin quickly bringing up the rear.

"Look for anything that looks like it could be useful, but be quick. We don't have much time."

Merlin, Aaron and Micah spread out, looking over every inch of the shop. Merlin scanned each book he saw, but what wasn't the same book he'd seen back in Micah's mother's library, was so obviously cheesy trash, he didn't even bother picking them up (_Spells for Dummies,_ really?) He was just about to give up all hope, when he saw it: the book. The same damn book that had started this mess, sitting smugly on a shelf, next to a package of incense. It was ragged and faded, but it was definitely the same book-or at least a very accurate copy. He picked it up with trembling hands. "I-I've found it."

"'It?'" Micah came around the corner, Aaron right behind.

"The book that brought me here." He showed them. "This is it, right down to the symbol here, on the front. I'm sure of it."

"Then the damn thing can take you home. Come on. I hear sirens."

With unspoken agreement, the three went back to where it began: the tiny forest in the middle of the city. Feeling Aaron and Micah's apprehensive stares on his back, Merlin opened the book, flipping through the pages, gathering speed as he realized that none of it looked familiar. Then he found it: an entry on time portals.

"This is it." He looked back at the strange look-alike pair, who had gone out of their way to help him, despite all the weirdness, gratitude filling his chest to bursting. "Thank you. For everything."

Micah grinned, gesturing at the book. "Go on, then. Your Arthur awaits."

Merlin, his face almost split in two by a huge grin of his own, read the page-long spell. At first, nothing happened; then the book grew hot in his hands. He dropped it with a yelp, backing away as the book began to glow on the ground. Then a ray of opaque light shot up and spread out, creating a man-sized doorway.

Merlin looked back one last time, and was instantly engulfed in a slender-limbed hug. "Bye Merlin. And do me a favor: never get yanked out of time by strange books ever again."

Merlin laughed. "I'm definitely not doing this again, that's for sure."

Micah let go. Aaron smiled a little. "Tell Arthur his time twin says hello."

Merlin nodded, then stepped through the portal…to find himself instantly back in a forest at morning, but this one was different. He _knew_ this forest. He was home! He could have wept with the sudden swell of joy, of relief. _Home!_

"Merlin?" His heart nearly stopped at the sound of the familiar voice. He spun around. "Arthur!"

It was. _It was. _Arthur, dressed in his normal hunting gear, stood no more than a few steps away, gaping at him in shock. To Merlin, he'd never looked more beautiful.

"_Merlin._" His name was nearly a whisper, a thankful prayer on his prince's tongue as he came forward, his hunting crossbow dropping from suddenly loose fingers. Two steps away, though, and he seemed to catch himself, and the vulnerable look was instantly covered up with anger.

"_Mer_lin, you _idiot_!" He roared. "You absolute, total-"

Whatever else his prince was about to say was lost, as Merlin took a page from his 'time twin's' book and grabbed him by the front of his tunic, pulling him to him in a rough and long overdue kiss.

Arthur stiffened, unused to such a bold move; but then he was kissing back fiercely, telling Merlin just how much he'd been missed. They didn't part until oxygen became vital.

"Idiot." Arthur whispered, with no real heat.

Merlin smiled, pulling him in for another kiss. "Missed you too, dollop-head."

**A/N: and end =). Hope you guys liked reading it as much as I liked writing it. Reviews are welcome and very much appreciated =).**


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